It's Time to Vote!

Voting has begun for the "You've Been Just Spotted Orange County Blog Awards." Just click on the logo above to get to the Just Spotted website. Voting is on the left-hand side.

The Cupcake Activist blog has been nominated under the "Food or Cooking" category! This is so exciting! Check out the other nominations and categories. You may find a few that you like too!

Promoting Your Cupcakes Correctly

Cupcakes Take the Cake recently posted a guide on "How to promote your cupcake bakery." If you are thinking about starting a cupcake company or already have one, you will definitely want to follow these guidelines. I've summarized them below, but you can also read the full post here.

1. Use a name that has a meaning behind it. And don't use a name that is already taken (i.e. Babycakes).

2. You must have a website with your contact information and photos of your cupcakes. Don't make it difficult for me to find info about your store/company.

3. Offer coupons and specials. Give me a different reason to stop by this week.

4. Join flickr and have lots of photos of your cupcakes. Join groups to get your name out there.

5. Join Twitter and Facebook and seek out customers. Offer deals to your followers.

6. Update your flavor offerings. Do a flavor-of-the-month or seasonal flavors (I love winter when gingerbread cupcakes are offered!). Create your own signature flavor.

7. Design a company logo and put it everywhere. If you aren't creative, have someone else make one for you. This is who you are, so take the time to make sure it's perfect.

8. Get to know your customers and take suggestions. Come out from the kitchen to chat with your customers. People like to see a face behind the cupcakes.

9. Blog. You don't have to just write about your store/company. Blog about your favorite chefs or your favorite recipe website. Your customers want to know about you. Show some of your personality.

10. Innovate. Don't be afraid to try something new.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Today is our president's birthday. He just turned 48 (wow, he's young). He's a smart guy because he celebrated his birthday by giving a plate of cupcakes to Helen Thomas, a journalist for the Hearst newspapers, who shares a birthday with him.



Happy Birthday President Obama! I hope you were able to eat a cupcake too!

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Found this great idea for cupcakes on La Fuji Mama's blog--Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes. She posts a recipe for cinnamon rolls and frosting, but I bet you could use some pre-made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls instead. Looks so easy. One tip that I would pass on is that she suggests using two cupcake wrappers because of how gooey they will be. Enjoy!

(Well, they aren't exactly cupcakes, but they sure look like them! Enjoy this fun breakfast idea!)

Faking It

I'm not a big fan of store-bought cupcakes (and I'm not talking about cupcakes from a cupcake shop, I'm talking about grocery-store cupcakes). They look so fake and they usually have enough frosting to frost a watermelon! But what if I need cupcakes and I don't have the time to bake any? Jessie from CakeSpy is always coming up with great ideas. This time she teaches us how to "fake it."

Step 1: Buy cupcakes from grocery store. See how weird these cupcakes look? No one will believe you made them yourself.



Step 2: Spread the frosting around to create a more homemade look. You might even want to remove some of the frosting, if there is too much.



Step 3: Add a decoration. Roll in sprinkles or add some chocolate chips.



Step 4: Practice your lines. When someone asks for the recipe, have an excuse ready. CakeSpy has that covered for you(see suggestions at bottom of page to tackle this step).

CakeSpy, thanks for making my life easier.